Home Depot exec 1 of 2 new BN board members

Barnes & Noble Inc. has appointed a Home Depot president and a former executive of PaineWebber as two new independent directors to its board ahead of the company's separation of its retail and college businesses.

The new board members are Ann-Marie Campbell, president of the southern division of Home Depot, and Paul B. Guenther, former president of PaineWebber Group Inc., the parent company of Paine Webber, Incorporated.

Campbell’s career at Home Depot spans 30 years, where she rose from Associate to District Manager, prior to assuming VP and President roles for multiple store operations, merchandising, sales and marketing. She is a graduate of Georgia State University, Atlanta, with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Master of Business Administration. Campbell currently serves on the board of Potbelly Corporation, and on the Catalyst, Inc. Board of Advisors.

Guenther is a director of Guardian Life Insurance and Chairman of Community & Southern Holdings, based in Atlanta. He served as a director and as president of PaineWebber Group, Inc. and has served as President of PaineWebber, Incorporated, where he was also Chief Administrative Officer responsible for administrative services, operations and systems.

Guenther served for 13 years as chairman of the New York Philharmonic and of Fordham University, where he is still a board member, and is the former Director of the Securities Industry Association and a former President and Director of Columbia’s Graduate School of Business alumni association. Guenther earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Fordham University and an MBA in Finance from the Columbia Graduate School of Business.

In connection with the planned separation of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (“BNED”), it is anticipated that one or more current members of the board will resign and join the board of directors of BNED.

Barnes & Noble Inc. operates 649 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states.